Botulinum neurotoxins are one of the most potent toxins known to man with an LD50 of 1-5 ng/kg of body mass when administered intravenously (F. Gessler, et al, (2007) Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 57, 243-249). The toxin is also produced as a pharmaceutical product to treat conditions such as blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm (R. L. Rosales, et al., (2006) European Journal of Neurology. 13, 2-10) in addition to being used in certain cosmetic procedures. The current method of determining the presence and concentration of the toxin is via mouse bioassay. This method is used due to its ability not only to detect the toxin but to establish whether the sample is active. However, mouse trials are not only expensive, but can also inflict suffering to the animal. Furthermore, these trials are time consuming and not suited to testing in remote locations.
The quantification of the active contents of the botulinum toxin is of paramount importance for therapeutic applications and, to date, no reliable method has been developed which does not have the requirement of a mouse trial for obtaining or ascertaining the correct dosage of botulinum toxin.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a sensor and/or method which can be reliably and easily used to identify the presence of botulinum toxin in a sample. It would be preferred that the sensor and/or method could additionally or alternatively be used to quantify the botulinum toxin in a sample. Furthermore, it would be preferable that any such sensor and/or method could be used to negate the use of mice and suitable for remote testing of samples outside of the laboratory environment.